Forecast summary

Regional

UK 5 days

UK 6-30 days

Regional forecast for Highlands & Eilean Siar

Occasional rain, clearing to showers later. Windy, very mild.

Today:

Cloudy this morning with some patchy rain, this clearing east by late morning with some brighter spells. A few showers returning to Northwest and a longer spell of rain returning to Lochaber in the afternoon. Gales over Hebrides. Very mild. Maximum Temperature 13 °C.

Tonight:

Any persistent rain in Lochaber clearing early evening. Then a mixture of clear spells and a few showers. Moderate to fresh southwesterly winds, strong to gale towards northwestern coasts. Minimum Temperature 5 °C.

Saturday:

A brighter day with a mixture of sunshine and occasional showers. Moderate to fresh southwesterly winds, strong to gale towards northwestern coasts. Less mild. Maximum Temperature 10 °C.

Outlook for Sunday to Tuesday:

Sunday mainly cloudy with some showery rain, though east drier. Monday cloudy, patchy rain, then a clear cold evening. Tuesday starting bright then windy with rain, heaviest in west.

Updated at: 0329 on Fri 9 Dec 2016

UK forecast for the next 5 days

Today:

Outbreaks of rain in the north and west. Some early hill fog and low cloud in the east and southeast. Otherwise, mainly dry with a mixture of cloud and brighter spells. It'll be another mild day for most.

Tonight:

Rain over Northern Ireland and Scotland giving way to clearer skies and showers. Rain over Wales and northern England sinking south-eastwards. A mild night for much of England and Wales.

Saturday:

Outbreaks of locally heavy rain across Wales and southern UK will slowly clear south-east later. Brighter elsewhere, but windy with showers in the north-west. Less mild in the north.

Outlook for Sunday to Tuesday:

Colder and brighter on Sunday with some rain in the north-west. Turning windier with outbreaks of rain in the west through Monday and Tuesday, staying drier in the south-east.

Updated at: 0153 on Fri 9 Dec 2016

Outlook for the UK over the next 6-30 days

UK Outlook for Wednesday 14 Dec 2016 to Friday 23 Dec 2016:

As we move through next week we are mostly likely to see a north-west to south-east split developing. During this time periods of wet and windy weather are expected to approach the UK from the west, however their eastward progression at this stage is fairly uncertain. In this type of scenario the most unsettled conditions are likely across the north and west, with drier and brighter weather for southern and eastern areas. It'll be windy at times, with the possibility of gales in the west and northwest, but it will be much less windy further south and east. It'll generally be mild with temperatures above average, however, in between weather systems temperatures will return closer to normal.

Updated at: 1222 on Fri 9 Dec 2016

UK Outlook for Saturday 24 Dec 2016 to Saturday 7 Jan 2017:

There is a good deal of uncertainty for this period as the UK remains in a battleground between higher pressure across the near continent and lower pressure in the Atlantic. The exact orientation of these will dictate conditions across the country. Currently western parts are most likely to see outbreaks of rain at times, along with relatively mild conditions, whilst eastern areas will see drier and perhaps colder conditions. There will probably also be some milder, unsettled interludes though, especially into early January, with the greatest likelihood of changeable conditions in the northwest, giving rain here at times.